Kim Taylor Blakemore
Author Interview - Kim Taylor Blakemore
Author I draw inspiration from: Three actually (is that allowed?) Emma Donoghue for stories that are deeply written and characters that always surprise me in their complexity. I love My Cousin Rachel and the question of did she/didn’t she. Sarah Waters for her style and wild stories. Daphne DuMaurier, for her mastery of pacing and pure dread. I have a photo of Daphne on my desk in which she looks very fierce and reminds me to “be tough” with my characters. When I think I’ve accomplished that, she looks at me and says, “Make it worse.”
Author Interview - Kim Taylor Blakemore
Favorite place to read a book: Anywhere and everywhere. I read on the Kindle app on my phone, and a book is always at the ready. Last interesting place was the dentist chair while waiting for a teeth cleaning.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: Bridget Jones. We might not be able to get out but she’d make me laugh, so it would be worth it.
Author Interview - Kim Taylor Blakemore
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: I’ve never not wanted to write.
Hardback, paperback, eBook or audiobook: eBooks for fiction, hardbacks and paperbacks for research as I write notes and highlight and tear pages out and put them in my writing journal to access later. I haven’t yet explored audiobooks, but my friends swear by them. Also, The Companion is out on Audible, so I am really curious to hear the book!
The last book I read: The Poison Thread, by Laura Purcell.
Author Interview - Kim Taylor Blakemore
Pen & paper or computer: Both. The Companion was written mostly by hand and when I felt the pace or rhythm of the scene I would pull out the laptop. But I think writing by hand pulls so much from the unconscious, and it a really powerful way to get to the meat of a scene. You can’t edit and rewrite and delete so easily, so the words are the first raw sense of the story.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: Bridget Jones.
If I wasn’t an author, I’d be a: Theatre director. Maybe a pirate.
Favorite decade in fashion history: 1880s
Place I’d most like to travel: I’d like to go back to Prague and stay a few months. The same with Cornwall. Well, anywhere in Great Britain, actually. I’d love to walk Hadrian’s Wall. And, a little secret: I’ve always wanted to go to Dollywood, because – Dolly Parton is awesome. J
My signature drink: Coffee and cream.
Favorite artist: This is really difficult…there’s so many I love. I adore Manet, Artemisia Gentileschi, Berthe Morisot, Suzanne Valadon…the list could go on…
Number one on my bucket list: Take a trans-Canada train trip from Halifax to Vancouver.
Find more from Kim Taylor Blakemore, here:
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gjxqib
Website: www.kimtaylorblakemore.com
Author Interview - Kim Taylor Blakemore
Bio: Kim Taylor Blakemore is the author of THE COMPANION (January 14, 2020; Lake Union) and the historical Young Adult novels BOWERY GIRL and CISSY FUNK. Known for writing darker stories with tangled lies and hidden motives, she has been honored with a Tucson Festival of Books Literary Award, a WILLA Literary Award, and two Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) grants. She also teaches fiction with PDX Writers in Portland, Oregon.
